Tan Vampires released their debut album, For Physical Fitness, during the summer of 2011, but to date haven’t gotten a whole lot of recognition, as far as I can tell, outside of some press on NPR and a few random reviews. And that’s a bit surprising, considering how accomplished that album sounds for a debut album on an indie label. There’s a confidence in their performances that serves them well. Tan Vampires come across as a blend of Ryan Adams, U2, Jeff Buckley, and Arcade Fire, but nowhere near as overbearing as that combination might seem like it could end up. It’s just that they lie somewhere along that spectrum, trending toward the more humble side of things. I suppose large-scale success could turn them into self-important monstrosities, but that could probably be said of many bands that you currently like who haven’t totally broken through, so I prefer to reserve judgement and just take it for what it is now.

And what that is is music that sounds good to my ears: maybe it’s not completely original, but songs like “Sweep Up the Pieces” have the big hooks and a strong-enough personality to muscle their way through the crowd, and deserve to be given the chance to be heard.